Fighting For Your Heart
by MEBTHG
Summary: Welcome to District 24, where you can die from disease. Where you can wake up hearing screams and gunshots. And the worst part, where you can lose a family member or friend because they go off to fight with the rebels.
1. Meghan Eversong

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Prologue**

Welcome to District 24, where you can die from disease. Where you can wake up hearing screams and gunshots. And the worst part, where you can lose a family member or friend because they go off to fight with the rebels.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

I wake up hearing yelling and running. Then, a gunshot. My little sisters, Morgon and Rilette, come running in crying. I know right away what I need to do.

"Come here." I say to them quietly, "It's okay. It's all over." They sit down on my bed with me and I soothe them.

"Sing to us Meg. Please." Morgon tells me. I sing the one song that I know will calm them.

_Sun goes down_

_And you close your eyes._

_Make a wish_

_And see the fire flies._

"You know the rest." I tell them, "Sing it." And they sing our favorite part.

_Melodies fill the breeze_

_Sweeter all the time_

I kiss them on the heads and get up. They ask, "Where are you going?" I tell them, "Out. Just sleep. I love you." I walk out with my jacket on and think, _finally! Fresh air!_ I jog and occasionally hide so the soldiers don't see me. I get to the electric gate and pray with all my heart that it's not on. I climb over it and rush to a hole in the ground where I keep my bow and arrows, and take them out.

I ready my bow and slowly walk through the forest. A twig snaps behind me, I whip around, and raise my bow.

"Dammit Gale!" I shout at him, "You almost gave me a damn heart attack!" I drop my bow and start slapping him till he backs away, laughing and smiling.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Won't happen again." he tells me, still smiling.

I've known Gale for as long as I can remember. Our fathers left to fight with the rebels when I was four and Gale was six. He looked after me while my father was gone. When they died during a bombing four years later, the only thing I could do was run to Gale, crying. I remember him holding me in his arms, soothing me. He was crying too.

"Wipe that smile off your face! You could've been killed!" I yell at him.

We keep walking until we get to our spot by the lake. We sit on the rocks by the water in silence. Gale then breaks that silence, "They're drawing names today. For two new soldiers. A boy and a girl." he pauses, takes a deep breath, and continues, "My names in the bowl. And so is…so is yours." I look up at him.

Once you hit sixteen, your name gets put into the bowl. Gale has had his name in there for two years. It's my first year.

I take a good look at Gale. It could be my last. He has tears running down his eyes. It's the first time I've seen him cry in years.

"Gale?" He lifts his head and stares into my eyes. "Don't worry about me." He wipes his eyes and tells me, "I have to. I-You mean everything to me." I stare at him for a while. _I mean everything to you?_ It's the first time he's said anything of the sort.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. It's a locket. I look from the locket then back to him. He gestures me to him. I slide over and he puts the locket around my neck. "So you'll remember me. If anything happens." He pulls me into him. I close my eyes and just for a moment, I feel there's no one but us in the world. Then, the siren rings. Time to gather at the center of District 24.

GALE WALKED ME home so I can get into my best clothes. I put on an ordinary blue dress with a white ribbon, pull my hair up into a ponytail, and double check to make sure I have my locket on.

Gale and his family are waiting outside our house to go. Then, we are all off to the gathering. _Oh God, please don't be me or Gale._ I think. I slip my hand into Gale's and he wraps his fingers around mine.

We get there and everyone's in groups of boys and girls. Gale turns to me and we hug. Then, we go to get our fingers pricked. The needle was as sharp as hell. I gasped as it pricked my finger. A few of the soldiers, or as I call them, the bitches from hell, directed me to the sixteen year old group of girls.

Felina Trinket, the head rebel, came up the steps and stopped in front of the microphone. I glanced at Gale, we locked eyes for a moment, and he mouthed a few things to me. _Good Luck_. I mouthed back, _Thank you._ Then, he mouthed something that I couldn't make out. He smiled and we turned to face Felina. She reached her hand into the girls' bowl.

I bit my lip. What if it was me? What would I do? What would _Gale_ do? What would happen to my family if I didn't come back? These questions hung in my head like a vine on the top of my head.

Felina pulled the slip out and read the name into the microphone.

"Mary Margret Ashen."

I was relieved that it wasn't me. But, then it hit me. _Mary Margret!_ She's my friend from third grade. I turned to see her long blonde hair pulled into a bun and her blue eyes wide with shock. She slowly made her way to the stage.

"Now, for the boys." Felina's voice was bright with excitement. How could she be happy? Two people, one boy and one girl, were going to fight in a war that started twelve years ago and still hasn't ended.

Once again, she reached her hand into the bowl and pulled out the slip. I froze in place as she read the name I didn't want to hear.

"Gale Tallthorna"


	2. Leaving Me

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Chapter 2**

I couldn't breathe and couldn't move. I felt like I was frozen in place. Gale was being taken away from me, possibly forever, to die. I felt like running up and tearing him away from the soldiers.

I turned to Gale, my eyes pleading for him not to go. Tears were clouding my eyes. He took a deep breath and made his way to the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Your new rebels!" Felina yelled and looked happy. _Why?_ I asked myself, _Why Gale? Why couldn't it have been me?_

Gale and Mary Margret made their way into the center building. I watched as the door shut and Gale vanished from my sight, possibly forever.

I PACED BACK and forth in front of the door of Gale's temporary room. He was finishing his three minutes with his mother, sister, and brother. I could hear sobbing and Gale saying to them, "Don't worry, I'll be back. I promise." _And what if you don't come back? _I thought. The door opened, his family came out, and Gale was standing in the doorway. He stepped back into the room and was about to shut the door when I stepped in, tears running down my face. I shut the door behind me and ran to him. He held out his arms and I jumped into them, sobbing into his shoulder. For a while, we were silent, and then he leaned back and looked at me.

I knew what he was about to say and stopped him, "Don't you dare tell me you'll come back, dammit! Cause what if you don't? Then what will I do?" I realized how loud I was and softened my tone, "What will I do Gale? I can't lose you. Not like I lost my father."

He stared at me. "Promise me you won't trust ANYONE in the woods, Meghan?" I answered him, "I promise" Then, he was kissing me. The kiss didn't last long; the soldiers were pulling me away from him. "Gale!" I screamed. He kept hold of my hand, kicking the soldiers, and telling them to let me go. "Let go of me, dammit!" I yelled at them. One of the soldiers managed to tear my hand away from Gale's, and I managed to yell at Gale one last thing.

"Stay alive Gale! Come home!" that's not what I wanted to say. "I-" the door slammed shut and locked before I could say anything else. This is it. Gale's gone. I remembered the times we had in the woods. How he'd always sneak up on me and he'd laugh. How, whenever we were at the lake, he'd always pull or push me into the water then jump in, laughing. His laugh. I'd never hear it again.

I got home and went straight to my room. "Are you okay?" I turned and found Rilette standing in my doorway. "I-I'm fine." I told her, "Just go downstairs for a while. I need to be alone for a while."

She shook her head, "Then you aren't alright. You want to be alone. I understand." she smirked then turned and left. I smirked as well. She always knows the right thing to do. Unlike Morgon, who stands in your door before you start yelling then she runs off crying. But, I love them and would do anything for them.

_I WAS IN A battle field. Gunshots and cannons firing as I ran through the woods. I hear a scream and run towards it. I know that scream! I hear it again. Rilette! I keep running and find her pushed against a tree by a boy, about seventeen, with blonde hair. "Rilette!" I yell and run towards the boy. I shove an arrow through his chest and he turns his head in shock. I gasped. It wasn't the boy anymore. It was Gale. "Meghan? Why?" he said then fell to the ground, dead._

I wake up screaming, tears running down my eyes. _It was a dream. Relax._ It takes a while before my breathing slows. Then, I look down at the locket hanging on my neck. It's a beautiful gold heart engraved with the name Mae. My initials. My name is really, Meghan Amelia Eversong. Mae is what my father and Gale's father used to call me.

I opened the locket and found two pictures. One was me and my father by the lake, before trespassing in the forest was illegal. The other was Gale. He was smiling. I love his smile. I felt like someone stabbed me in the heart. I'd never see that smile again. The tears started to come again. _Stop!_ I told myself. I need to relax and sleep.

But, I can't sleep knowing that I could lose Gale forever. Then the thought came to me. Could I really spend the rest of my life without him? _No. Oh God no!_ Then it hit me.

I love him. With all my heart! He's mine, forever and always. No one can ever replace him.


	3. The Stowaway

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Chapter 3**

I slept well that night. When I finally woke up, I saw that I had the locket in my hand. _Gale. . ._ I stopped myself. I got up, got dressed, and went outside. It wasn't until I got into the forest that I realized what I was doing.

I was going to our spot.

Then, I remembered my promise to Gale. _Don't trust ANYONE in the woods._ I whispered, "I promise, Gale." I readied my bow and arrows and walked to our spot.

An arrow shot right passed my head. I whipped around and raised my bow and arrow. It was a boy, about seventeen, with dirty blonde hair. _From my dream. . ._ "A girl? With weapons? C'mon! I thought I got a soldier or something!" he stared at me, "Are you going to put your bow down or what?" he asked.

"No." I snapped at him. "Not until you get the hell out of here." he stared at me for a while. "You don't trust me?" he asked me.

_Don't trust ANYONE. . ._ "I don't trust anyone I meet in the woods." I snapped, my arrow still pointed at his throat. He puts his bow and arrows on the ground and says, "You're a smart girl. I'm Lucas. What did you say your name was?"

I lower my bow just enough to see his face. "Meg-" I hesitated. Do I want him to know my real name? "Mae." Good save Meg. Good save. I slip the arrow into my sheath and wrap the bow around my shoulder.

"What's that around your neck?" he asks, pointing at my neck.

I look down at the locket Gale gave me. "It's a necklace my friend gave me. He went to help the rebels."

"He must really care about his little pet." he chuckles and grins. I can't hold in my anger, so I take a rock and knock him unconscious. I run for about a mile and stop by a tree. _I'm NOT his pet._

I'VE BEEN IN the forest for an hour. I think. My thoughts keep going to Lucas. Why did he want to know my name? And most importantly, why did he say that I'm Gale's _pet_? "Bitch." I say. I throw a rock into the water.

I remember when Gale and I used to skip rocks in the lake when we were little. We'd search around the forest all day looking for the perfect rocks. If we didn't find a rock perfect for skipping, we'd make it into an arrow head for my father to make a new arrow.

I open my locket. Then, there's a twig snap behind me. I jerk me head around, but there's no one there. I get up and take out my dagger. "Who's there?" I yell, "Show yourself!" Lucas steps out tossing a rock in the air. There's blood dripping from his forehead.

I step a little closer and get caught in a net, hanging in the air. I scream. "Dammit Lucas! Get me down from here!" He chuckles and slowly walks toward me. "Don't think you can get rid of me _that_ easy. I'm hard to get rid of." he smirks. "There isn't one damn bitch in the world that can get rid of me. Learn that. Oh, and thanks for the dagger." he runs off.

I feel like my face is on fire. Who is he calling a damn bitch? He has no right to call any woman that. Especially me. He messed with the wrong bitch.

I finally cut myself loose with an arrow and rush to get home. I stop. Why am I rushing? It's not like I told him where I lived or anything. I slow my pace. Then, I hear two women talking,

"Did you hear about the stow-away?"

"A stow-away?"

"Yes, I heard he's from the rebels' side and ran away when they came for the two new soldiers. No one knows where he is. And, word is, if you catch him, there's a reward."

"What kind of reward?"

"Possibly a spot as a rebel or maybe cash."

I keep walking. Stow-away? Wait. _Lucas said, when he found me, he hoped I was a rebel._ And why else would he be in the woods? I need to find him. But, is it to warn him? No, he probably knows all that by now. I know why I want to catch him. I want his spot so I can be with Gale.


	4. Still No Trust

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Chapter 4**

"Meghan Amelia Eversong! Where have you been? You've been gone for hours!" my mom shouts. "Have you been in the woods again? I told you to stay out! And-"

"Mom! Relax, I was just. . ." _Think Meg, think._ "I was just seeing if Gale's family is okay. You know, with Gale gone. . ." _Oh God! Here come the tears!_

"Oh, Meghan. Come here." my mom says quietly, "It's okay. I'm sure he'll be back." Just like Gale said. "Here, why don't you bring this basket to them? And put something in there from you too." I look inside.

There are some herbs and remedies from my mom, apples and goat milk from Morgon, and two homemade toys for the kids from Rilette. "Maybe you could write a song for them." I turn and see Rilette standing there with some paper and a pencil. I smile and take the paper and pencil.

_How do I start?_ I ask myself. I then got it.

_Just relax and close your eyes._

_And listen_

_Here's the truth, no more lies._

_Listen._

_He's still here, in our hearts_

_He's still here, in our minds_

_Ooooh, and he's mine_

I stopped. That's not right. I erase the last line and try again.

_He won't leave,_

_He will stay_

_And he won't go away_

_We love him._

_And he loves us._

_No Matter What._

"Done." I said with a smile. I put it carefully in the basket and went to Gale's house.

"Hello Meghan. Can . . . I. . ." Ms. Tallthorna started crying. I walked over and gave her a hug. "It's okay. Here, my family and I brought you something to help with . . . never mind." I hand her the basket.

"Oh, thank you Meg. This will help immensely. Thank you dear." she said. "And Priscilla has something for you too. Priscilla?" she and I turned around and there, standing by the island, was the little twelve year old girl. Priscilla May Tallthorna.

She walked up to me and handed me something that's wrapped in cloth. I open it and Gale's macramé bracelet. We both have one that we made eleven years ago. Our fathers were in the war for a year and we made them to remember them. On them, it says, "I.M.H.F" which means, In My Heart Forever. I smile and my eyes start to water. My voice is raspy but I manage to say, "Thank you."

I turn to leave then find Jake, Priscilla's twin brother, standing in front of me. He gives me a hug and that's when the tears come. I squeeze him hard to only find he and Priscilla do the same to me. I can't help thinking that they'll possibly never see their older brother again.

I WAS ON MY way home in the dark. Big deal. I did it all the time when I was young, only Gale was always with me. "Hey you!" I hear a boy yell. _Great, just what I need._ "What do you want Lucas?" I ask, annoyed. I turn and can barely see a smile on his face. _What's so funny?_ "What's so funny? Ever see a 'damn bitch' walk home in the dark?" I ask, being sarcastic.

"Yea, um, listen . . ." he answers. He scratches his head, "About that. I was being . . . a jerk. It's just hard to stay hidden when you run away. With all these 'bounties' on my head and stuff. I guess I thought you wanted to turn me in or something."

_You thought right._ "Are we done here? I need to get home." I tell him. I put my hands on my hips.

He smiles and walks forward. I take a small step back. Then, he takes out a dagger, _my_ dagger. "Here. It's no use to me. Oh and uh, can you not tell anyone you saw me?" I take the dagger and turn to go away. He grabs my arm and turns me to face him. I look away, annoyed. "You _still _don't trust me? C'mon! I gave you back the dagger _and_ I confessed. What more do I need to do to gain your trust?" he asks me.

"Turn yourself in. Or I will." I tell him. I turn and hear him say, "_What_? Turn me in? Why the hell would you do that? What did I do to you?"

"Um, let's see. You shot an arrow past my head . . ."

"Accident. I thought you were-" he tried to finish but I cut him off.

"Let me finish. You caught me in a net. On _purpose_. Stole my dagger for your own use, oh, and you called me a 'damn bitch'. That sum it up for ya?" I say.

I storm away, hear him say, "Bitch." under his breath, and he storms away as well. "Dido." I say to myself.

As I walk, I see a soldier. I go up to him and tell him one simple thing. "I found the stow-away. He went south into the woods. Oh, and he's armed." I was sure to tell him the exact location.

"Thank you. When we catch him, you will have your reward." he tells me, and walks in the direction I pointed him to. I smile and go home.

SOMEONE'S IN TROUBLE . . ." Morgon says. Why is she still awake?

"What do you mean, Morgon?" I ask.

"You're home _really_ late." she says, "Mom's in there." she points to the living room. My mother is waiting for me.

I walk over and sit in front over. She isn't happy. "Hi, Mom." I say, "I . . . uh . . ." What do I say?

"You're late, Meg." she says, "Where were you? What were you doing?" she sounds irritated.

"I was still at the Tallthorna's and was walking home when . . . this boy runs by and it turns out he was the stow-away. He talked to me then we both stormed off. Then, I found a soldier and turned him in. I get my reward when they catch him."

She looks at me, surprised. "So, do you have an idea of what reward you want? Money? Or . . . ?"

"Yes." I say. How do I say this? "I—I want his place as a soldier." I look down. _Don't yell or forbid me. I want this so bad._

She gasps then says, "It's so you can see Gale again is it?" She tilts up my head so she can see me. Tears are now flowing out of my eyes.

"Yes. I have to see him, Mother. I miss him. I-" I start crying even more. She finishes my sentence for me, "You love him." All I can do is nod slowly.


	5. My Reward

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, there's a knock at the door. Rilette barges into my room and quickly says, "It's two soldiers! They say that they want to speak with you." Then runs off.

_That's right! My reward!_ I get up and quickly get changed. When I get down, they are at the door. "Excuse me?" I say, "You wanted to see me?" They turn and nod. I then show them to the living room.

"You are the girl that found the stow-away. Am I correct?" The tall one asks.

"Yes, sir. You are correct." I answer.

"We will give you two choices for rewards. You can take a thousand coins, or you may fight with us. Your choice." he says.

"I'll take the fight, sir." I answer with confidence.

They both nod and tell me that I get three hours to get ready and say my goodbyes. Then, they leave with nothing more to say. I take a deep breath and go to my room. _I don't get to bring anything. Just clothes . . ._

I get into my hunting clothes. A hunter green tee shirt, brown pants, my brown leather jacket, and dark brown boots. I put on my dark brown leather gloves, my locket, and the macramé bracelet. Finally, I French braid my hair. "What are you doing, Meg?" I turn and Morgon is standing there.

"I'm going to fight with the rebels, Morgon." I answer. She stares at me, her eyes starting to water. "Morgon, don't worry. I'm sure we will win. And I'll come back. Promise."

"Double M swear." she tells me. We made up the 'Double M swear' when she was younger. I have to kneel down so I'm at her height. Then, we touch fingers and write the letter 'M'. Next, I turn my finger just enough to lock fingers with her. Then, we shake our hands three times. Now, we let go, touch hands (like you're touching a mirror), and curl fingers. Then, I whisper, "I swear with all my heart." and we hug.

We do the swear and then, I leave to talk to Gale's family.

"You took his spot? Why?" Mrs. Tallthorna asks me. I hesitate. _Do I want to tell her? Does she know yet?_ "Well . . . I . . . I love him." I answer. She smiles and gives me a hug. Then, she takes something out of her apron pocket and ties it around my braid.

"What's this?" I ask.

"A green ribbon. For good luck from all of us." She answers with a smile.

I smile and leave. I'll miss coming here. I'll miss all of District 24. I'll miss everything.

I remember when I was little and Gale and I would run around in the center of the District with all the other kids. I remember my birthday when Gale gave me a long green ribbon. He always kew it was my favorite color. I even remember the fights he and I had. They'd last for about a day, then we'd be laughing and joking about stupid stuff. Sometimes our fights would be things like, _"What the hell was that!" "What are you talking about?" "You could've been killed dammit!" "I don't give a damn!"._ In every fight, at least one of us would curse. We'd even do it around our siblings and they'd cry. If only I could see him again.

I get to my house and the soldiers are already there. Then I realize something. _Is that . . .?_

I guessed right. The soldier standing to the right, brown hair all neat, and staring at me with a blank, _Why are you doing this?_ face, is none other than . . .

"Gale."


	6. New Friends, New Enimies

***CAUTION: CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE***

**Fighting For Your Heart**

**Chapter 6**

He looked so serious. I've never seen him like that. At least, I did when our fathers died and he had to take control. Even then, he didn't look as serious as he is now.

"Are you ready, Miss?" another soldier asked.

"Yes, sir. Can I say goodbye to my family first?"

"Five minutes." he turned to Gale, "I'll be right back, Soldier." Then, he left.

I ran to my mother and sisters. They squeezed me so tight, I could barely breathe. When my mother let go, she ran to the kitchen, weeping.

"She doesn't want you to go. Neither do I." I turned to Gale. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I was doing it to be with you. Now, I don't know why because you're here."

"To be with me?" he asked, "Why? You could die where I'm stationed."

"Gale," I whisper while I slowly move toward him, "You know why."

He stared at me, eyes pleading. I turned my head to see if Morgon and Rilette were there. They weren't. I turned back to him and smiled. He smiled back and closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped mine around his back. Then, we were kissing.

I don't know how long we kissed. A minute? Two maybe? Gale pulled back. "I here someone coming." he whispered. I stepped back.

"Are you ready?" the soldier asked.

I took a deep breath. Am I? "Ready." I answer. He and Gale lead me out where a jet is waiting. In that jet, another rebel waited and, _Damn! You have to be fuckin' kidding me!_

Sitting right next to him, in handcuffs, is Lucas. I stopped midstride. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit._ "Meghan?" Gale whispered, obviously concerned, "What is it?" He must see staring at Lucas. "It's okay. He's in cuffs and I'm right here. He won't hurt you." he whispered. I took a deep breath. "Okay." I say to myself.

We keep walking. I felt Lucas's eyes on me and I shivered. _Relax. He can't do anything to you._ We get in the jet and there's no turning back.

NO ONE TALKED and it felt like no one breathed either. The soldiers were quiet, the pilot didn't say a word, and Lucas was staring at me the whole way.

We finally landed in a camp full of ruins. There's a huge tent that I assume is used for meetings and planning. There's around twenty tents for soldiers, a training ground, and a tent that's guarded by many soldiers. _This is it._

"Come with us." said a soldier behind me.

I followed Gale and him through the camp and to the huge tent. Inside, a sargent and three soldiers stood at a table, talking. The sargent saw us, as well as the soldiers, and all, including the soldiers with me, saluted.

"What is your name, girl?" the sargent had a deep voice that almost made me jump.

"Meghan Eversong, sir." I answered.

"Leave us, soldiers. I want to speak with the girl, alone."

The soldiers leave and I'm alone with the sargent. "So, you are the girl who reported the bastard soldier?" I nodded. "Very well then," he continued, "I have a question for you. Can you handle any weapons at all?"

"Yes, sir. I can handle a bow and a knife."

"Any other weapons?" he asked me.

"No, sir. Nothing else."

"Very well. Then you will be stationed with the soldiers from your district. We need a new one anyways."

I'll be stationed with Gale! I should say thank-you but. . . "Wait." I said instead, "what do you mean 'We need a new one after all'?"

"We only have one new soldier from your district. Therefore, we need another, as the law states."

The law states that each district must give two teenagers, no more and no less. Any other amount can result in terrible consequences.

Gale is here so that means. . . "What happened to the girl?" i asked him.

At that moment, a soldier came in requesting the sargent's assistance. The sargent left and I left as well. I roamed the site, thinking. _What happened to Mary Margret?_ My thoughts stopped as I slammed into another soldier. We both fell to the ground.

"Hey! What gives?" it was a female. We stood and I saw her features. She had dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her skin was a light tan. She had brown eyes and she wore plain, normal clothes.

"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought and didn't see where I was going." I explained, "Uh. . . I'm Meghan. I'm from District 24"

"And I don't give a damn." she said, harshly. "Now, get out of my way before I blow your fuckin' ass off your damn body."

I moved and she stormed off.

I have a feeling that I'm not going to like it here.

I FOUND MT TENT a few feet from the training grounds. I walked in and saw that there were two cots. One is empty, which I assume is mine, and the other had a bag, jacket, and a gun on top of it. _Wonder who my roomate is._

I sat on my cot, trying to think. What happened to Mary Margret?

I slumped back onto the bed. This isn't turning out as I hoped it would. Not even an hour here and I already have a girl who hates me. What did I do to her to make her hate me?

Just then, a girl walked through the flap of the tent.

She paused. She had short blonde hair and pale skin. She wore an outfit similar to mine. "Oh. Um. . . hello. You must be. . . ?" she stumbled.

"Meghan Eversong. And you are?"

"My name is Liliana. I'm from District 22." she smiled a tiny smile. "So you must be from District 24?" I nodded. She walked over to her cot, moved everything onto the floor, and sat down.

She sighed and fell onto her back. "You're in for a real challenge, Meghan. You don't know what you got yourself into." she lifted her head up to look at me, "Can you handle a weapon?"

"Yes, two actually. Why?"

"Well," she sighed, "if you can't or you don't handle it well, you're done. No one knows where you go or why they have that damn rule but, whatever. As long as you're alive, healthy, and can handle a weapon, then you can fight."

So, Mary Margret is _gone_. She's not at District 24, I think, and she's not here.


End file.
